1. Field of the Invention
The disclosed embodiments relate to compositions, devices, and methods related to promoting blood clotting.
2. Description of the Related Art
Blood is a liquid tissue that includes red cells, white cells, corpuscles, and platelets dispersed in a liquid phase. The liquid phase is plasma, which includes acids, lipids, solubilized electrolytes, and proteins. The proteins are suspended in the liquid phase and can be separated out of the liquid phase by any of a variety of methods such as filtration, centrifugation, electrophoresis, and immunochemical techniques. One particular protein suspended in the liquid phase is fibrinogen. When bleeding occurs, the fibrinogen reacts with water and thrombin (an enzyme) to form fibrin, which is insoluble in blood and polymerizes to form clots.
In a wide variety of circumstances, wounds can be inflicted as the result of trauma. Often bleeding is associated with such wounds. In some circumstances, the wound and the bleeding are minor, and normal blood clotting functions in addition to the application of simple first aid are all that is required. First aid may include applying pressure to the wound with a sponge or similar device to facilitate clotting functions. Unfortunately, however, in other circumstances substantial bleeding can occur. Bleeding can also be a problem when the trauma is the result of a surgical procedure. Apart from suturing or stapling an incision or internally bleeding area, bleeding encountered during surgery is often controlled using sponges or other materials used to exert pressure against the bleed site and/or absorb the blood. However, in many circumstances these measures are not sufficient, such as when the bleeding becomes excessive, or when the wound is difficult to reach, or when it is advantageous to be able to view continuously the wound area.